About a year ago, I wrote a survey of the online shopping scene that painted a fairly bleak picture. Back then, the goods on offer were the type of things that would embarrass even the Innovations catalogue. In any case, there weren't many UK retail outlets (or US, for that matter) that seemed particularly interested in the concept. At the same time, the few potential customers that existed were being scared off by fears of pimply hackers grabbing their credit card details and doing a Nick Leeson with them. However, I ended with the hope that, in the near future, the situation would improve.
But now, 12 months later, it is the near future and, unfortunately, it hasn't. Despite major advances in online security, an increase in the number of online retailers, and a greater public awareness of what the Internet actually is (although only 2 per cent of the UK public have access to it), the ring of virtual tills is still a mere tinkle. So why do most consumers still prefer coming into shops on foot rather than online?